Then and Now: When slot cars were king

In the market for some wheels? How about a Ford Mustang GT350? A Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe? Or, perhaps, that hot, hot, hot Lamborghini Diablo “Palau” that everybody’s been talking about?

With any luck you might be able to get all three on eBay for under $150 — and have them shipped to your front door in six days or less. They might even fit in your mailbox.

After all, we’re talking about slot cars here — pint-sized versions of the world’s most coveted racing cars. To fans, these cars are highly collectable — from the earliest train-inspired models made by Lionel in 1912; to the gas-powered 1:16 scale cars produced during the 1930s; to the versions that first became popular in the 1950s and are still going strong across the country and around the world.